Trinity Named to List of ‘Colleges That Pay You Back’

University in San Antonio is included as one of the nation’s best in academics, affordability, and career prospects

by Susie P. Gonzalez

Trinity University has been named to the 2017 edition of Colleges That Pay You Back: The 200 Schools That Give You the Best Bang for Your Tuition Buck, published by the Princeton Review.

The guidebook recommends colleges considered to be the nation’s best for academics, affordability, and career prospects. Selections were based on a return on investment rating based on academic and financial aid rating and college costs. Trinity’s return on investment, based upon each university's academic and financial ratings and college costs, placed at 89. In addition, the guide calculated the median starting salary for graduates with a bachelor’s degree to be $42,300. The median mid-career salary for alumni is $90,000, according to the guide.

Princeton Review editors analyzed 650 schools for the project, ultimately choosing 200 as the “most exceptional in the nation at delivering great academics, affordable cost, and great career foundations.”

In its profile on Trinity, the Princeton Review says the school “gives students a great environment, great people, (and a) great education.” With an enrollment of roughly 2,250 and the requirement to live on campus for three years, the University achieves a “small-town” feel in a big state, according to the guidebook. Additionally, it credits a communication major for saying Trinity is “a close-knit university with high standards of excellence and competency that challenges students, while creating a comfortable environment.”

In support of the “best bang for your buck” ranking, the guidebook notes that Trinity meets an average of 94 percent of student financial need, including scholarships for those who are eligible. A student with a double major in French and art history described Trinity as “warm and supportive but challenging – kind of like San Antonio’s weather. The plentiful scholarship money didn’t hurt either.” Another student, a political science major, said the University’s “financial aid packages are great so there are many middle-class students and with such a smorgasbord of ethnicities, economic statuses, and cultures,” the students “all learn from one another.”

For life after Trinity, the book cites PayScale.com’s statistic that 55 percent of Trinity graduates consider their careers to be instrumental in making the world a better place. One student said the small size makes it so “everyone really knows everyone, even alumni, which is really great because it makes networking so much easier.”

Rob Franek, Princeton Review's senior vice president, publisher and lead author of the guide, said, “We highly recommend Trinity University and all of our Colleges That Pay You Back schools. They stand out not only for their outstanding academics but also for their affordability via comparatively low sticker prices and/or generous financial aid to students with need – or both.”

The Princeton Review lists the 200 colleges in the book alphabetically in a single list, not with a ranking sytsem. The Review, which is not affiliated with Princeton University, is also known for its school profiles and rankings and its annual books such as The Best 381 Colleges, another list that traditionally has included Trinity.Princeton Review also has ranked Trinity at No. 2 for having the Best Science Lab Facilities in 2017.

Susie P. Gonzalez, senior manager of public relations at Trinity University, can be reached at susie.gonzalez [at] trinity.eduor @susiegonz.